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Three Weeks
Three Weeks is the tenth short story in the anthology Biggles Flies Again. The story was originally published in the April 1934 edition of Popular Flying. It was then gathered in Biggles Flies Again in 1934. From 1935, it was also reprinted in other periodicals. In Flies Again, this story is preceded by Down in the Forest and followed by The Sheikh and the Greek. Synopsis After the events in Down in the Forest, Biggles, Algy and Smyth arrive in Karachi where they help an old friend beat a foreign agent at the oldest game in the world--the game of espionage and counter-espionage. Plot See the article under Ivan Nikitoff for a summary of the plot. Characters *Biggles *Algy Lacey *Smyth *Pat O'Neilson *Ivan Nikitoff also known by his cover name Sirdar Ali Sha *Lieutenant H. F. Carruthers *J. L. Browner *F. L. Winters Aircraft *Vickers Vandal Places Visited *Karachi **Orient Hotel **Temple Square **Teddy's Bar *Gwadir *Jask *Lingeh *Tumb Island *Basra Mentioned Editorial Changes Substantial editorial changes were made from the 1950s editions, mostly to "modernize" the setting and remove references to the First World War: *At the beginning of the story, Algy has an iced lager at his elbow. This becomes simply an iced drink. *In early editions, Biggles calls his friend Tim O'Neilson the first time he meets him. Later he refers to him as Pat. In later editions this possible error was corrected and he is Pat right through. *Tim had "eyes that had once probed the skies of France from the cockpit of an S.E.5 of 56 Squadron, R.F.C." Later this becomes "probed the skies of France from the cockpit of an R.A.F. Spitfire." *The later mention of 56 squadron being famous for its hospitality is dropped totally. *Tim takes Biggles to a quiet corner of Teddy's Bar. This becomes more simply a quiet corner. Same as the iced lager. Were the editors that sensitive to mentions of alcohol? There are plenty of mentions of smoking and cigars. *Mention of a yellow and black Fokker is changed to a Messerschmitt *Biggles tells Tim he has a "ticklish job", "what with Gandhism and all the rest of it...." By the 1950s this was considered insensitive and so was dropped totally. *"Who's the Hun?" becomes "Who's the enemy?" *Expressions like "For God's sake" became "For Heaven's sake". *Biggles suggests that Carruthers take Imperial Airways. If the intention was to change the setting to after the Second World War, that should have been changed to B.O.A.C. Looks like the editors forgot and created an anachronism. *"Biggles, from the cockpit of the 'Vandal'...." This phrase is dropped totally. The editors must have been really sensitive to any suggestion of an open cockpit, although this is not a strong suggestion at all. *The "modernized" Vandal becomes a twin engine just like in the previous story. The magneto problem the Vandal had in the previous story became a blocked petrol outlet post-1950s editions. This change is maintained in this story. References to the past Incongruities Chronology Publication History *''Popular Flying'', April 1934 *''Biggles Flies Again'', August 1934 and subsequent editions *''Modern Boy'', No. 382, 1935 entitled Marooned by Biggles. *Reprinted in Out of the Blue edited by Flight Lieutenant (W E Johns), Ace Publishing Co., 1938. References Category:Short stories Category:Biggles short stories Category:Interwar era short stories